Level Up Your Resourcing
If you're a business owner, chances are you’ve asked yourself at least once: Do I have the right team and support around me to actually grow this thing?
Whether you're just starting out or generating seven-figure revenue, how you resource your business plays a huge role in how fast and how well you grow. You need to consider who you bring in, when, and why.
In this post we run through three key stages of resourcing that every business owner goes through, and how to move through them strategically.
Stage 1: Upskilling the Founder
Nearly every business starts here. You're doing everything — marketing, sales, client work, bookkeeping — and you're leaning heavily on free or low-cost learning tools like webinars, podcasts, and online courses.
This stage is about building confidence and capability. But there’s a ceiling. You can only grow as far as your skills and time will take you, and eventually, you become the bottleneck.
The key mindset shift at this stage is to start seeing yourself as the leader, not just the operator. The faster you can move out of “doing it all” mode, the faster you’ll create space to actually grow.
Stage 2: Hiring for Doing
This next stage is where you begin buying back your time. You might bring on a Virtual Assistant, a bookkeeper, or junior support to take on repeatable tasks that don’t require your expertise.
As Dan Martell puts it in Buy Back Your Time: you can make more money, but you can’t make more time. Every task you delegate gives you back hours to focus on sales, delivery, and growth.
Even a few hours a week of support can create a noticeable shift. Track your time for a week and highlight every task that doesn’t need your direct involvement. Those are your first outsourcing candidates.
One of my favourite questions to ask is: “Does this need your face?” If it doesn’t need you in the room, let it go.
Stage 3: Hiring for Thinking
This is where real transformation happens. You're no longer hiring task-takers, you're bringing in experts who can think strategically with you. This might include a virtual CFO, marketing experts, a business coach, or an operations lead.
These hires feel like a leap, especially financially, but they bring an entirely different level of value. They help you see blind spots, improve systems, and make informed, proactive decisions.
When I moved into this stage at Olive Business Partners, I first brought on a social media manager who not only posted content but helped shape our strategic messaging and brand presence. Later, I hired a business manager on a project basis to streamline our sales and onboarding process and what she uncovered gave me hours back every week and helped me scale more sustainably.
These weren’t cheap hires, but they’ve more than paid for themselves in revenue as well as in clarity, confidence, and capacity.
Matching Your Team to Your Revenue Model
One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to resourcing. If your business is project-based or has lumpy cash flow, keep your team flexible. Think contractors, freelancers, or fractional support.
But if you’ve built a more stable recurring revenue model, you can potentially start transitioning to a more permanent team. This might look like converting a contractor to part-time or full-time, or building an internal operations or marketing function.
The goal is to align your team structure with your revenue structure so you have the capacity to deliver without burning out or stretching too thin.
The Role of Forecasting
And of course, this all ties back to financial forecasting. Before making your next hire, understand your break-even point, your current margins, and what kind of revenue lift is needed to afford additional resources.
Run a few different scenarios (best case, base case, and stretch) and use that to guide your hiring timeline.
And always ask: Where’s the best place for me to hire next? It depends on your background and strengths. As a finance professional, I didn’t need senior support in that area. But I did need help with marketing, systems, and operations.
Resource Smarter, Not Harder
To wrap it up, here are the five takeaways I want you to remember:
You don’t grow by doing more. You grow by resourcing better.
Don’t wait too long to step into stage three. Strategic hires early on will accelerate your growth and help you avoid costly mistakes.
Match your team structure to your revenue model. This is key to building a sustainable business.
Use forecasting to time your hires wisely. Know your numbers and plan ahead.
Resourcing isn’t just about money. It’s about protecting your energy, your calendar, and your ability to lead for the long haul.
If you're unsure what stage you're in or what kind of hire would have the biggest impact that’s something we help with at Olive Business Partners. You don’t have to figure it out alone.